babylon5fandomcom-20200225-history
Clark's Law
Clark's Law is the fourth book in the series of original Babylon 5 novels. It was written by Jim Mortimore. Blurb DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR The Tuchanq, a newly discovered humanoid species, can be an important ally for the Earth Alliance commanded by President Morgan Clark. So Captain John Sheridan welcomes their ambassador to Babylon 5, not knowing that among them is D'arc - a mass murderer on the run hoping to escape into the unsuspecting worlds of the galaxy. CLARK'S LAW But the unforgiving rules of space have a different fate in store for D'arc. A terrifying accident wipes away D'arc's identity and his evil...leaving behind a loving, innocent being with child's mind-a being that must die because President Clark, a leader with his own secret agenda, orders his immidiate execition. Now, as Babylon 5 physician Dr. Stephen Franklin begs Sheridan to defy Clark's law, the captain faces the greatest test of his command-and a far greater test of his manhood, which may end his career in shame or become a shining reminder of what being human truly means... Synopsis Prologue In 2242, the DSEV Amundsen became the first human ship to encounter the Minbari. Its captain, Ellasai Ferdinand VI, panicked and ordered his crew to open fire, destroying the ship. Called in to testify, Ferdinand lied and claimed that the Minbari had opened fire on the Amundsen, and thus he had acted in self-defense. This lie led directly to the Earth-Minbari War. Two months earlier and uncounted light-years away, Narn Fleet Commander G'Kar ordered the orbital bombardment of the Tuchanq Capital City, killing millions of civilians. Two days later, he landed and announced to the locals that Tuchanq had been attacked by the Centauri, and that their own hope in avoiding an invasion lay in becoming part of the Narn Regime. And thus began a brutal occupation that would last nearly 2 decades. In 2258, Earth President Morgan Clark, hoping to begin a radical overhaul of the Earth Alliance that would keep Earth relevant in the face of growing calls for independence on the colony worlds, began pushing for re-instatement of the death penalty for murder. Hoping to allay fears that the death penalty would be used disproportionately against aliens, Clark insisted that it would be applied equally to all who were found guilty of premeditated murder. See also People * Lyta Alexander * Taan Churok * President Morgan Eugene Clark * Vir Cotto * D'arc * DeBora Devereau * Eddie Delvientos * Ellasai Ferdinand IV * Dr. Stephen Franklin * G'Kar * Michael Garibaldi * Brian Grond * Jacintha Grond * Commander Susan Ivanova * Ambassador Kosh * Lazarenn (mentioned) * Senator Sho Lin * Janice Mbotuni * Dr. Carla Mendez * Ambassador Londo Mollari * noMir Ru * nuViel Roon * Vice President Luis Santiago * Anna Sheridan (mentioned) * Captain John Sheridan * Throxtil * Talia Winters (mentioned) Places * Babylon 5 ** Dark Star ** Down Below * Earthdome * Mars (mentioned) * Syria Planum (mentioned) * Tuchanq * Z'ha'dum :* Lothaliar Races * Cauralline * Cthulhin * Deneth * Dilgar (mentioned) * Drazi * Froon * Markab (mentioned) * Morellian * Pak'ma'ra * Thrantallil * Throxtil * Tuchanq * Trakallan * Ylinn Ships * [[DSEV Amundsen|DSEV Amundsen]] Continuity * Several errors in this book ruin its overall story and make it difficult to accept. However, these can be overlooked with a few simple corrections. ** The entire story about the start of the Earth-Minbari War was most likely written before any cannon material and is therefore unintentionally apocryphal. ** Date Error: The section of the book marked "Earth: the Second Lie" is set October 7th, 2258 and mentions President Clark. Clark would have been Vice-president in October of 2258--Santiago's assassination would not occur until just after midnight on January 1st, 2259. This is most likely a misprint. ** Date Error: The section of the book marked "Tuchanq: The Second Lie" is dated October 9th, 2259 and seems to be set after the surrender of the Narn Regime. This would be chronologically incorrect as the Narn surrender occurred in the second week of December, 2259. There is enough cannon evidence to support this. The exact date of the surrender is unknown, but "The Long, Twilight Struggle" is set from December 3rd to December 10th. It is possible that the liberation of the Tuchanq home planet occurred as part of the Centauri advance and that the native Tuchanq were freed while the Narn-Centauri War entered its final months. This would seem to fit with cannon established by a statement made by Warleader G'Sten to Ambassador G'Kar in "The Long, Twilight Struggle". *** If you correct the errors to fit with the continuity the book is not bad. Category:Novels